Recording mechanism.



FREDERICK M. LUCHS AND ALFRED RUCKSTAHL, F WILKINSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA,

ASSIG-NORS TO RUCKSTAHL AND LUCHS, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

RECORDING MECHANISM.

Specification'of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. v2'7, 1917.

Application filed. March 27, 1916. Serial No. 87,050.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that we, FREDERICK M. LUoHs, a citizen of Switzerland and a resident of Wilkinsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, and ALFRED RUCKSTAHL, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Wilkinsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State of Penn sylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Recording Mechanisms, of

which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to recording mechanisms and particularly to such mechanisms as are employed in connection with elevators, hoists and similar machines.

The object of our invention is to provide a mechanism that is simple in construction and eflicient in operation to accurately record the movements of working parts of machines.

In the operation of hoists or lifts inconnection with mines or other industrial plants, it is very desirable that a mechanism be employed to record the movementsof the car or cage, as the case may be, not only with regard to the extent of such movements, but also to record the time occupied by each movement and the time at which it occurred. By means of such an arrangement,the neglect of duties on the part of attendants may be readily detected. The

amount of work done or the number of tri s made during any given period may readily determined.

In the construction of recording mechanisms, it is essential that the moving parts which are governed by a clock or other timing mechanism be readily adjustable for beginning a new series of records and that they move freely and uniformly during the operation of the device. It is necessary, also, that the part of the recording mechanism that is operatively connected to the movin part of the elevator or hoist be ar- 5 range to operate without lost motion in order to not only insure accuracy in the records but to prevent the occurrence of distorted curves or loops when the moving element reverses its direction of movement.

We provide a device in which the above desirable results are accomplished by a mechanism of few and simple parts. drum or cylinder which carries the chart upon which the record is made is connected to a screw-threaded haft which meets with a stationary pawl. The shaft is so constructed that it rotates with the drum by force of gravity alone to present a new surface to the pen or marking device. The movement of the shaft is controlled, however, by a clock mechanism which acts as a governor to insure a uniform movement and as a timing device.

The details of our invention will be described in connection with the accompanying drawing in which Figure 1 is a View, partially in elevation and partially in section, of a mechanism constructed in accord ance with our invention, parts being broken away. Figs. 2 and 3 are enlarged views of details. 7

A base plate 1, which may be mounted upon and supported by a casing 2, supports a pair of posts 8 which are connected at their upper ends by a cross bar 4. A cylinder or drum 5 for carrying a ruled record sheet indicated at 6 is rigidly connected by means of two circular plates 7 to ascrewthreaded shaft 8. The plates 7 may be soldered or otherwise suitably secured to the shaft 8. I

The shaft 8 is provided with screwthreads 9, the projecting portions of which are inclined on their upper edges 10 but which extend normal to the axis of the shaft on their lower edges 11. As best shown in Fig. 2, the shaft 8 coacts with a pawl 12 that is slidably mounted in a boss 13 of a lug 14. The lug 14, which is secured to the bar 4, is provided with a central opening 15 through which the shaft 8 extends and into which the pawl 12 projects to engage the shaft 8.

The pawl 12 is provided, at its inner end, with a projection 16 for coacting'with the shoulder formed by the edges 11 of the screw threads. The lower side of the projection 16 is inclined to coact with the inclined portions 10. retains the pawl in its illustrated position to prevent downward movement of the shaft 8 without its being accompanied by a rotatable movement. The pawl is arranged to permit an upward movement of the shaft without rotation of the latter, as will be readily understood. A nut 18 incloses the end of the boss 13 and constitutes a stationary support for the outer end of spring 17.

The t reads 9 on the shaft 8 are so steep A spring 17 normally the that the shaft would be rotated at a rela tively high rate of speed by the force of gravity were it not restrained by suitable mechanism. Three vertically extending rods 19, which project through holes or openin s 20 in the plates 7, are connected at their upper ends by an annular disk 21 and are similarly connected at their lower ends by a circular plate 22. The plates 7 may move vertically with respect to the rods 19 but these parts rotate with each other.

A shaft 23, which is secured to the plate 22, extends vertically through a centrally disposed boss 24 that is integral with the base plate 1. The shaft 23 is provided with a thrust bearing at 25 and a journal bearing at 26. The lower end of the shaft 23 is operatively connected to a clock mechanism 27 by means of gear wheels 28 and 29.

A pen 30, which may be such as is usually employed for recording purposes, is ar ranged to reciprocate vertically to indicate or record the movements of any desired machine which operates through any definite cycle. The pen is controlled by a mechanism comprising a vertically movable rod 31 that extends through a guide member 32 at its upper end and is rigidly secured at its lower end to a sliding block 34 which prevents rotation ofthe rod during its longitudinal movements.

As shown in Fig. 3, the block 35 is provided with projections 36 which extend across the edges of a guide member 37. A bar 38, which engages the outer side of the guide member 37, is secured to the projections 36. This arrangement insures that the rod 31 has no rotative movement.

.The rod 31 is provided with a screwthreaded portion which coacts with a bevel gear 39 to control the longitudinal move ments of the rod. The bevel gear 39 is actuated by a second bevel gear 40 which is connected by a shaft 41 to a wheel 42. The wheel 4.2 is operatively connected, by any suitable means, to a hoist or other device the movements of which are to be recorded.

spacing sleeve 43 prevents any vertical movement of the bevel gear 39. The pen operating mechanism is supported by a member 44 secured to the base plate '1.

The record sheet 6 is provided with circumferentially extending ruled spaces to correspond with desired periods of time. The record is arranged to be a continuous one for a period of, for example,'24 hours, the surface presented to the pen being a spiral one corresponding in pitch to that of the threads on the shaft 8.

In the operation of the device, the drum 5 is provided with a chart 6 and is then raisedto its uppermost position in which it is retained y the pawl 12. The chart is then adjusted to correspond to the time at which the operation is' begun. The 'drum 5 and shaft 8 then rotate slowly by force of gravity, the spiral movement being governed by the clock mechanism. 'VVhen the wheel 42 is actuated to rotate the bevel gear 39 in a clockwise direction, as viewed from above, the rod 31 and the pen 30 are actuated upwardly to an extent corresponding to the movement of the hoist or mem her to which it is connected.

WVhen the hoist descends, the pen is actuated downwardly and the movement is recorded in a similar manner. The drum has rotated through an angle such that the lines do notcoincide but meet at an angle if the hoist has reversed its direction immediately. The time elapsing between the beginning and the end of any trip may be determined by inspection of the chart as may the time elapsing between trips. The destination of each trip and the time spent at any landing place is clearly indicated by the record.

It will be noted that we have provided a recording device which does not require a heavy clock mechanism or other motive power as it operates by force of gravity. Lost motion of the various moving parts is effectually prevented by the arrangement for operating the pen. The clock meclnr nism isstationary and the rotating parts are few in number and accessible for inspection or repair. The provision of a stationary pawl and a movable shaft secured to the drum avoids the use of sleeves and other parts that may be necessary when the shaft is fixed and the pawl is connected to the rotatable member.

The above and other advantages will be apparent to those skilled in the art to which our invention appertains. It .will be understood thatsuch changes'may'be made as fall within the scope of the appended claims without departing from our invention.

W e claim as our invention 1. In a recording mechanism, the combination with a drum for carrying a record sheet, and a screw-threaded shaft rigidly connected thereto, of a stationary guide member for said shaft, a pawl yieldingly mounted in said guide for effecting a spiral movement of said shaft in one direction, said pawl having an inclined portion for coacting with a corresponding surface of the screw-threaded shaft for permitting rectilinear movement of said shaft in the other direction, means for uniformly retarding the spiral movement of said shaft, and a marking device movable relatively to said crum.

2. In a recording mechanism, the combination with a memberfor carrying a record sheet and a relatively movable pen, of means for supporting one of the devices comprising a screw-threaded shaft and a stationary pawl for permitting rectilinear movement of said shaft and said members, in one di-' rection, and for effecting a spiral movement of said shaft and said member in the opposite direction.

3. In a recording mechanism, the combination with a yieldingly mounted stationary pawl, and a movable shaft coacting therewith having screw-threads of such pitch that said shaft rotates relatively to said pawl by force of gravity, said pawl and said screw threads having inclined portions for permitting rectilinear upward movements of said shaft, and a clock mechanism for retarding the motion of said shaft.

l. In a recording mechanism, the combination with. a rotatable shaft, and a clock mechanism operatively connected thereto, of a drum rotatable with said siaft but movable longitudinally relatively thereto, and means for effecting a spiral downward movement of said a rectilinear upward movement of said drum.

5. In a recording mechanism, the combi' nation with a rotatable shaft, and a clock mechanism operatively connected thereto, of a drum rotatable with said shaft but movable longitudinally relatively thereto, and means for effecting a spiral downward movement of said drum, but permitting a rectilinear upward movement of the drum.

6. In a recording mechanism, the combination with a shaft having screw-threads, the upper edges of which are inclined and the lower edges of which are normal to'the axis of said shaft, and a pawl coacting with said screw-threads to prevent longitudinal Copies of this patent may be obtained for drum and for permitting movement of said shaft in one direction and to permit rectilinear movement of said shaft in the other direction, of a drum secured to said shaft, and a pen movably mounted adjacent said drum.

7. In a recording mechanism, the combination with a drum and means for effecting a downward spiral movement thereof, of means for limiting the rate of movement of said drum, said means comprising a timeelement device, and a plurality of rods eX- tending through said drum and movable longitudinally relatively thereto.

8. In a recording mechanism, the combination with a drum and means for efiecting a downward spiral movement thereof, of means for limiting the rate of movement of said drum, said means comprising a timeelement device, and a plurality of rods eX- tending through said drum parallel to its axis and rotatable with said drum.

9. In a recording mechanism, the combination with a drum and means for effecting a downward spiral movement thereof, of a clock mechanism, and means for operatively connecting said mechanism to said drum, said means comprising a plurality of rods extending longitudinally of said drum and slidably connected thereto for rotation therewith and means for rigidly connecting the corresponding ends of said rods.

In testimony whereof, we have hereunto subscribed our names.

FREDERICK M. LUCHS. ALFRED RUCKSTAHL.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, 0. 

